


Wand and Chain

by SerpentineTraveler



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Not Epilogue Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-03-21
Packaged: 2019-04-05 09:36:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14041371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerpentineTraveler/pseuds/SerpentineTraveler
Summary: Magic holds people back, Harry decides.





	Wand and Chain

Magic holds people back, Harry decides, as he steps through the bricks and in to muggle Kings Cross station.

The magical world seems so stagnate. Diagon Alley was the same now as it was when McGonagall was a student. Even after the destruction caused by the Death Eaters, it was restored to its previous “glory” as close as possible. The traditional cultural values and traditions are still prevalent in wizarding society, and he finds it rather stifling.

In the breaks between terms, Harry escapes into the world he spent his first decade in; the Muggle one, where no one knows who he is and has no expectation to foist. The first time he made the trip, Harry had found the Muggle world as alien to him as the Wizarding one had once seemed. He had, after all, spent most of that first decade in a cupboard only to be let out to do chores, and the summers after Hogwarts began were filled with longing and worrying. He had no wish then, to remain in Muggle England, for it had been inaccessible and unwelcoming, and the Wizarding one _wanted_ him. There were people there who _cared_. 

But even though they cared, he was still _Harry Potter_ to many of them. And now they expected him to be a great man, to be a great wizard, to face the future with the same amount of bravery he showed in battle. The general public settled back into their lives, tried to resume the same lifestyle afterwards, but Harry could not do that. For one, he’d had no idea what traditional wizard culture was even before the War had truly kicked off, but it would be impossible for him to forget. On top of that, it would be to disregard the sacrifices of the people who lost their lives in the fight. 

So he left it behind, when he could. He returned to the muggle world. He took a bitter pleasure in creating a space for himself there, after the Dursleys had done their very best to keep him out of it. 

He hikes his bag over his shoulder and walks with purpose through the station and out into wider London, intending to duck into a cosy cafe, and sink his teeth into a book, before heading to his modest, but comfortable apartment. He could afford a high class place of course, but that seemed like such an extravagance for a place he felt he should be comfortable in, the Dursley’s treatment still had its imprints on him, he supposed. He had never been allowed to have or use any of the expensive items at the Dursleys, and the lingering behavior made him uncomfortable owning and using such items. He felt that home should feel lived in, and he should feel comfortable there, not as if the house were on display.

Failing to find a cafe near the station that is appealing, he heads to his personal favorite, The Caffeinated Alchemists, only two blocks down from his apartment. Stepping inside, he wanders up to the counter and orders what is essentially a mocha, and claims a loveseat suitable for a Lovegood tucked into the corner. He immediately drops his bag, removes his jacket and curls around his book, turned sideways in the chair.

The cafe was ironically magic themed, but the world it imagined was far from reality. It imagined a magical world as more accepting and progressive and modern. A lot of which the Wizarding World wasn’t. The Wizarding World never accepted that Harry wasn’t the picture of the ideal Wizard. Every wizard had their image for the Man Who Killed Voldemort and Saved The World. He’d had no desire to please people and had decided that he would be true to himself. And yes, a part of that was a desire to save and protect people, but he had turned that energy into helping children learn how to defend themselves. That being his reasoning in taking up the Defense position at Hogwarts, after dropping out of the Auror program. The DADA curse had broken with the death of the Dark Lord, so he’d held the position for some time now. No one has caused an uproar, so he takes that as a good sign.

The cafe’s idealism and escapism was endearing to Harry; it saw magic as this new world of adventure and the place for everyone. That’s something it was for eleven year old Harry, but time had made him more observant, and perhaps even a little jaded. The old-fashioned societal structure was a crushing pressure, and the way the architecture never changed despite the passage of time only enforced the feeling of isolation inside a bubble time couldn’t touch. The only people who were interested in Muggle innovations are muggle-borns, or people like Arthur Weasley, who is, Harry thinks affectionately, somewhat buffoonish in his infatuation with muggle items. Muggles and their creations are written off in the wizarding word, because why bother when you have _magic_. 

Magic is great and all, Harry thinks, but it enables reliance. Wizards don’t seem to develop their skills, so putting them in a situation that it is not allowed results in utter incompetence. He finds some bitter satisfaction watching Wizards struggle to do the things muggles do, when the same wizards seem to hold themselves above muggles and muggleborns.

The reliance on magic is something Harry is actively trying to combat; both in himself and his students. He started taking self defense courses and working what he learned there into his dueling practices. He had added lessons into his curriculum about how to defend yourself without a wand, and then asked students to think about how adding these methods into a fight with magic could benefit them.

He is so irritated by the people who don’t bother trying to actually get to know him, but act as if they do, or act as if their status in wizard society grants them a right be be near him. Harry has never cared about status. That is one reason he has carved out a space for himself in the muggle world, people like that would never believe that the great _Harry Potter_ would settle there. Even the Weasley’s didn’t understand the value of disentangling himself with wizard culture. Hermione understood it better, but not entirely.

He finishes his drink, unfolds from the chair, and proceeds to tuck his book back into his bag. Stepping out the door and heading down the road he continues to marvel at the world muggles have build for themselves.

Yes, magic holds people back.


End file.
